Page 61 of Whatever Will Be

The girls bounce with excitement when they see a closeup of their uncle as he takes some practice swings and then fixates on the waiting pitcher. Gretchen takes a deep, nervous breath as she watches her brother and I lean forward on the couch.

In the batter’s determined stance I see endless boyhood games of catch, thousands of team practice hours, and the cocky aspirations of youth. I see my best friend and make a quick plea to the universe not to stand in his way.

You got this, Danny. You got this.

The pitcher releases the ball.

Gretchen grips my hand.

Danny swings for the fences. The hollow crack of the bat hitting the ball is sweet music.

The announcer knows it too and gets excited.

“And this one is high in the air! It’s going a long way folks and IT IS GONE! Danny Aaronson in his first time at the plate has hit a single homer and Arizona gets a good look at their new third baseman.”

Danny trots around the bases with no conceit and returns to the dugout to accept the grateful backslaps of his teammates.

Mara waves at the television. “Uncle Danny!”

Caitlin stands up on the couch. “He won!”

Gretchen exhales with relief and I steal a kiss from her. She laughs and explains to the girls that the game isn’t over but their uncle did hit a home run.

Caitlin stubbornly insists that “Uncle Danny won” and I have to agree with her. Danny just won something big.

The next time he’s up at bat, Danny smacks a double into the left field corner. In a later inning he also completes a diving catch on a line drive, turning what would have been a base hit for the opposition into an out.

No other runs are scored in the entire game and Arizona wins, one run to zero. After the game, Danny is briefly interviewed and though he’s got a hundred watt smile planted on his face, he’s humble and grateful in his responses, crediting the pitcher and the rest of his teammates with playing a fantastic game.

An hour later he calls Gretchen’s cell and the twins insist on talking to him before allowing their aunt to have her phone back. Danny actually doesn’t have much time to chat. The team is traveling again tonight. But I do get to have a word with him when the phone is passed to me.

“Well done, buddy.”

He snorts out a laugh. “I think they might keep me around for a little while.”

“They’d be damned fools not to. Now go get your pro athlete self some rest. You’ve got another game tomorrow.”

Nobody could have asked for a better outcome and the twins are hyper with excitement, which is nice to see. They ask to have dinner at Sea Escape, that overcrowded family place where you can watch fish swim by and shit inside their water tank as you eat. Gretchen lifts an eyebrow and leaves the dinner choice in my hands.

Of course I want to go to Sea Escape.

I can’t think of anything I want to do more. I’d never turn down a chance to see those two kids smile.

In gratitude, Mara allows me to hold her favorite doll. She says I’m allowed to keep it for the rest of the day but I will have to give it back tomorrow.

That sounds like a fair deal to me.

After a noisy, chaotic meal, we stop at the bakery on Mill. They have far more bunny cookies in stock now that Easter is just around the corner.

Later, Gretch gets the girls to bed while I sit on the couch, searching random crap on my phone and thinking about a certain soon-to-be-naked redhead. Gretchen is the first woman I’ve ever been with whose sexual appetite is a challenge to meet.

Won’t hear me complaining.

“Trent.” She says my name from the top of the stairs. I swear she grows more beautiful every hour.

I nod to her. “What’s up?”

“The girls want to know if you’ll come up for a minute to say goodnight to them. They both asked.”

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